Pictures not accompanied by editorial content would be more appropriate for /r/pics & other such subreddits.

Anything about Lions, Tigers and Bears -- Oh, My! Or other non-attack animals too, I guess.

As this subreddit has grown and more people are posting to it there are a couple things to keep in mind. Please do not post about cross-species animals or recipes. As with most other subreddits, don't link to your personal blog or links to purchase something you're selling. Finally, please put [MyPet] before posting a picture of your pet.

Looking into becoming a vet health tech but teetering between that and nursing. Ive always loved animals and have volunteered with the spca and have lots of experience with small and large animals (horses, oxen). biology is my passion. any info is appreciated!

The sad thing is you can get trained on a lot of places. The amount of money you get paid won't be a lot at all. I worked in a small vet business, a couple different ones. The common thing is low pay for hard work. I am not certified but was trained on.

There good things to working in the vet field, but also a lot of negatives. You see a lot of horrible pet owners. Ones who will euthanize at the smallest thing wrong, and then the ones who won't euthanize when the time is right. The ones who claim they can't afford to pay for treatment but have the newest phone out and designer clothes. It's heartbreaking. You want to chew them out, but you can't.

There are a couple heartbreaking things that stand out to me was, a lot of puppy parvo cases because the owner was too cheap to get the vaccines, and then easily disposed of the puppy and would get a new one a couple weeks later. Then the ones who let their dog get into just about anything and it was sick for days and didn't bring it in until it was unconscious. The instant we got it back the dog vomited blood everywhere.

But, I loved it. There is a blog I read that has a lot of stories that Vet's deal with on a daily basis vetsbehavingbadly

Personally, if you're wanting to make a career choice, I'd choose nursing. You'd be in a better position financially and still get to deal with the medical side of things. If I had to choose a career between vet and nursing, I'd honestly choose nursing because it would be a lot easier financially.

I agree. Becoming certified will only give you the benefit of having that concrete piece of paper that makes you a Vet. Tech. I've worked as a tech (drawing blood, placing IV caths., taking x-rays) and make under 10$ an hour. You can be trained to do all those things and not have to pay for school to do them. I'd recommend becoming a nurse only because financially, it's worth paying for the schooling and you will make what you put into it.

I worked for seven years as a tech (stopped to stay home with my baby) and there were many times I wished I had done nursing. I had a bs and still didn't make shit. You get scratched and bit all the time. You sometimes have to wrestle large dogs who don't cooperate well (restraining them) and get no respect. It was also a very rewarding job. If you want to actually be ok financially go nursing. I don't do well with people so that is why I chose vet tech. I loved the job, but after a while it takes a toll on you. Another thing to consider is the hours. Just because the clinic closes at 5:30 doesn't mean you are done. I have stayed as late as nine pm at time because an emergency came in last minute. There is also very little regulation in the vet world. I have worked for 3 different clinics, from high tech to down right disgusting. The things I have seen vets do when the owners aren't around made me be more selective on where I take my dogs.